Canadian battledress

Article about: Hello ! My question is what are the difference between ww2 Canadian \\British Battledress and post war beside the date in the jacket ? Is there a huge difference ?. My point is i can't afford

Canadian battledress

Hello !
My question is what are the difference between ww2 Canadian \British Battledress and post war beside the date in the jacket ? Is there a huge difference ?.

My point is i can't afford a ww2 canadian battledress for my display but i have seen one with the date 1951 inside and as i am not an expert i could not remember if they were different .
Thanks in advance

Re: Canadian battledress

Hi Frenchy, first of all the biggest difference between Canadian and all British BD's is the colour. Canadian BD is much more "green" in colour as opposed to the British Khaki which is more of a brown shade.

All wartime Canadian DB's were cut the same as British 1937 pattern: that is with a fly front (Covered buttons) and pleated breast pockets. They did not adopt the Austerity 1940 pattern (actually worn from 1942 onwards) like the British with all exposed buttons, no pocket pleats etc.

All post war BD's made from 1949 onwards had an open collar as opposed to one which fastened all the way up to the neck. They were worn with a collar and tie.

This is a simplified overview for you. The British adopted new patterns also in 1946 and 1947 before settling on the 1949 pattern.

Re: Canadian battledress

by Adrian Stevenson

Hi Frenchy, first of all the biggest difference between Canadian and all British BD's is the colour. Canadian BD is much more "green" in colour as opposed to the British Khaki which is more of a brown shade.

All wartime Canadian DB's were cut the same as British 1937 pattern: that is with a fly front (Covered buttons) and pleated breast pockets. They did not adopt the Austerity 1940 pattern (actually worn from 1942 onwards) like the British with all exposed buttons, no pocket pleats etc.

All post war BD's made from 1949 onwards had an open collar as opposed to one which fastened all the way up to the neck. They were worn with a collar and tie.

This is a simplified overview for you. The British adopted new patterns also in 1946 and 1947 before settling on the 1949 pattern.

Cheers, Ade.

One other difference is that they used metal buttons and have a single button up neck flap and I have a post war (I think? date not stamped fully) that does button up to the neck and did away with the button up neck flap.